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Alomar knows he's got stiff competition

CLEVELAND -- Sandy Alomar Jr. has served as the interim manager of the Indians for the past five days, but he has yet to sit behind the desk in the manager's office. If he gets the full-time job, Alomar will feel more comfortable shifting to the chair.

Consider it one more sign of respect for former manager Manny Acta.

"It's not my office yet," Alomar said with a laugh. "I'm sitting on the couch -- not in the chair -- just so you know. I haven't. I haven't used Manny's chair at all. It's there, but I don't know if there might be a ghost there or something."

Alomar is tentatively scheduled to interview for the full-time managerial role on Thursday -- one day after the regular season ends. Former big league manager Terry Francona, who led the Red Sox to two World Series titles, is expected to be in Cleveland for an interview on Friday.

Alomar, with no managing experience prior to this interim job, knows who he is up against.

"I don't have the resume that Terry has," said Alomar, who was a teammate of Francona's during winter ball in Puerto Rico in 1988. "Obviously, that's a slam dunk. Geez, I wish I had that. As a player, maybe I did. But as a coach? He has an unbelievable resume. Obviously, anybody would want a Terry Francona. I'm just going to go out there and do what I have to do and let the rest take care of itself.

"Who wouldn't want a guy like that? He has everything. He has championships. He's a great guy. He's a great communicator. He's the perfect guy to have; I'm not going to hide it. I'm not going to say I'm already a slam dunk, because I'm not. Nobody owes me anything. That's always been the approach in my life.

"I have a ton of respect for him. The organization has to make a huge decision. It's not about who's the most popular guy or that I played here or did this in the playoffs. They've still got to make a decision for the organization. I feel like I'm prepared for it."

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VELAND -- Sandy Alomar Jr. has served as the interim manager of the Indians for the past five days, but he has yet to sit behind the desk in the manager's office. If he gets the full-time job, Alomar will feel more comfortable shifting to the chair.

Consider it one more sign of respect for former manager Manny Acta.

"It's not my office yet," Alomar said with a laugh. "I'm sitting on the couch -- not in the chair -- just so you know. I haven't. I haven't used Manny's chair at all. It's there, but I don't know if there might be a ghost there or something."

Alomar is tentatively scheduled to interview for the full-time managerial role on Thursday -- one day after the regular season ends. Former big league manager Terry Francona, who led the Red Sox to two World Series titles, is expected to be in Cleveland for an interview on Friday.

Alomar, with no managing experience prior to this interim job, knows who he is up against.

"I don't have the resume that Terry has," said Alomar, who was a teammate of Francona's during winter ball in Puerto Rico in 1988. "Obviously, that's a slam dunk. Geez, I wish I had that. As a player, maybe I did. But as a coach? He has an unbelievable resume. Obviously, anybody would want a Terry Francona. I'm just going to go out there and do what I have to do and let the rest take care of itself.

"Who wouldn't want a guy like that? He has everything. He has championships. He's a great guy. He's a great communicator. He's the perfect guy to have; I'm not going to hide it. I'm not going to say I'm already a slam dunk, because I'm not. Nobody owes me anything. That's always been the approach in my life.

"I have a ton of respect for him. The organization has to make a huge decision. It's not about who's the most popular guy or that I played here or did this in the playoffs. They've still got to make a decision for the organization. I feel like I'm prepared for it."